11/11/2010

Lean Management: Why shall we optimize processes?

Use continuous process improvements to make your organization lean
Everybody use processes on a daily basis, most of us joust don’t focus on it. We have a process for getting ready in the morning, a process for going to bed at night, a process for driving to work, a process for driving home when we are done. I think you get the point: Our lives are full of processes. Businesses and organizations are no different. They are full of processes, some well defined and lean, others not.

The secret to success is to get lean
I believe that one of the biggest factors between businesses that are successful and those that aren’t is that the successful ones know and understand what their business processes are and focus on the improvements of those processes. The reason that the understanding of these business processes is so powerful is that the organization that understands how it gets things done can also focus on how to improve the efficiency surrounding that process, minimize costs, and increase profits. That is a powerful tool. It is easy to see how a firm grasp of your processes can help you to increase the efficiency of your business model, thereby making the actions required to execute the processes lean in nature.

Efficiency studies and what they mean today
Around the turn of the last century massive studies whose focus where the efficiency of workers and the processes in the plants they worked in began to help business owners understand that slight modifications of even the smallest step in a production process could net significant increases in productivity. The focus of lean process improvement is similar to these early studies in that it seeks to identify possible bottlenecks and constraints within established processes and minimize or eliminate them where possible. Consider the impact on a production line where a bucket of bolts is placed just out of arms reach where the mechanic may require a full second to reach the bucket, retrieve a bolt, and place it in the designated product. Now consider identifying that as a constraint on the production time of that particular product and as a result moving the bucket of bolts closer to the mechanic. This move cuts the time it takes him to get the bolt in half. For one bolt this may not seem significant, but over the course of 100,000 bolts the company saves nearly 14 hours. By making all processes lean, production time is greatly reduced, more products are made, and more profits are generated.

2 Kommentare:

  1. Frank,

    You have a lot of good articles here already. The example of the bucket of bolts is a great illustration of the value of lean thinking. The right small changes can make a big difference. Thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to more of your great work.

    Chris

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  2. Nice blog dear author my thinking is also same as you, Lean system is rapidly growing in today's' era as this become a factor of gaining achievement and success, I really appreciate your spirit in writing this sort of article about Kaizen Training, I am much pleased to read this.

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